Lack of opportunities, unemployment
Pandamatenga, the core of commercial farming in Botswana, has a lot to offer in terms of food security, attracting direct investment, creating employment and expanding exports, amongst others. But on the ground, things are not as they seem. Mmegi staffers MOMPATI TLHANKANE and CHAKALISA DUBE took to the streets of the village to get the views right from the horses’ mouth
INorman Songa (34)
am a resident, I was born here. I was in Kasane and Kazungula a few years ago but since I got here, I have realised that there are no formal employment opportunities only farm jobs. The opportunities come during the busy periods like planting and harvesting. But after that, if you were not engaged on a permanent basis you are left to struggle without source of income. Life for a youth in Pandamantega is good and bad at the same time. This is because there are challenges such as low wages and some of the companies that come here leave after completing their work. I have never worked anywhere since I returned to Panda after school. I currently run a business where I transport farm workers. As for land, many people are being allocated residential plots here but I don’t have one because I live in our old home. Going forward, I think the youth need to be empowered with farming equipment since this area is centred on farming. ISPAAD (Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development) doesn’t always work because we end up missing the critical planting periods.
Life in Panda is very hard because COVID-19 is still here and there are no jobs. Farm jobs cannot sustain us, we are struggling, since the pandemic we have not been making money. Before the pandemic it was better compared to now, most jobs were labour-intensive and now the situation is worse since employers have reduced wages as well. The money we make for a two-day job is not enough, it goes from hand to mouth. We want to farm on our land as well, but we don’t have farm machinery. As subsistence farmers, if we could get loans to buy tractors and planters, we could plough our small fields. Those who have resources plant their fields first before they could consider us. ISPAAD is even worse because we only have one person with a tractor to assist the rest of us. In the past, we used to plough through donkeys but we don’t have any of that, our donkeys have been killed by lions.
Doreen Luckson
I am the VDC chair here, so our main challenge is unemployment caused by farming activities. People migrate from their various places across Botswana and come here to look for jobs and as a result it becomes congested and residents of Panda end up without jobs. We end up competing for the same resources and it becomes hard to access facilities like clinics. Also, when programmes are availed we also share them with people who are only here temporarily. We don’t know what to offer our youth in the village because when a budget is made we look at the number of locals and their problems. We now have to revive some of the projects in the pipeline like poultry businesses, horticulture and beekeeping.
Osimilwe Pini Motile (37)
I sell food here and my target is truck drivers and other people who pass by. I sell pap with stew and braai meat. I have been here running my business for five years. The challenge we have is space, we are always at odds with the council because they want us to put temporary structures. Sometimes we want to develop the place and make it appealing to our customers. We can’t put permanent structures unless the land board give us a piece of land and that land also comes with terms and conditions. If I could be given a permanent space it could really grow my business. This is the same business which has been sustaining my family and taking my children to school.